peppermint to more exotic flavors like ginger-orange.
“Care for a gingerbread muffin with your tea?” Dawson asked, holding up a basket full of the delectable treats Lucy had made for the guests.
“Sure. Thanks,” she said, taking one from the basket.
“Please, join us.”
Tina sat down and took a bite of the muffin. “Wow. This is amazing.”
“Lucy is a genius in the kitchen,” Dawson said, taking a muffin for himself.
“She made me blueberry pancakes this morning with crunched up bacon in them,” Dylan said, licking his lips.
“Oh, that sounds very good.” Tina blew on her tea and then took a sip.
“Did you enjoy shopping with the ladies the other day?”
“I did. They are a fun group. Julie has been so welcoming to me. Honestly, I thought I might end up alone for Christmas, so this has been a blessing to me.”
Dawson hadn’t heard her say that many words since she’d been there, so he was glad she was finally talking.
“Dawson?” Lucy called from the kitchen.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
He pushed open the door and saw Lucy standing in a pool of water beside the dishwasher. “Guess what’s wrong?” she said, her hands on her hips.
“Oh, no…”
“Should I go get your toolbox?”
“Yes, please.”
Dawson walked back to the dining room. “Dylan, I know we were supposed to write your letter to Santa, but I have a mess in the kitchen. Can we do it tonight?”
Dylan poked out his lip. “But, I wanted to get it in the mailbox today. What if it doesn’t make it there in time?”
“I don’t mind helping him,” Tina suddenly said.
“You don’t have to do that.”
She smiled. “It would be fun. I mean, as long as Dylan is okay with it?”
Dylan grinned. “Yes!”
Dawson laughed. “Okay, but don’t ask for a Ferrari or anything, okay? I hear Santa is economizing these days.”
“What’s a Ferrari?”
“Nevermind.”
* * *
Tina had never been around kids much. As an only child, she’d never had the experience of being around them, and babysitting had never been her thing.
“And what else do you want?”
“I want an Army set with the little guns too.”
“Are your parents okay with that?”
“It only matters what Santa says I can have, Miss Tina,” he said, rolling his eyes and laughing.
“Right. Okay, what else?”
“A puppy.”
“I don’t think your parents are going to be okay with a puppy running through the inn.”
“If Santa says it’s okay…”
“Point taken. Okay, what else should we add?”
“Do you think it’s okay to add prayers?”
“Prayers?”
“I want to ask Santa to pray for my daddy.”
“Your daddy in the kitchen?”
“No. My first daddy. He died.”
Tina felt her breath catch in her throat. “I heard about that. I’m really sorry, Dylan. You must miss him.”
“Sometimes I do. He liked Christmas a lot. One time, we made cookies. My mom said we’re making cookies this year.”
“You have a great mom, huh?”
“Yep.”
“I’m sorry you lost your first mom and dad, but you have wonderful new ones and that’s great.”
“I didn’t know my first mom, so I don’t really miss her.”
Tina swallowed hard. “Oh. Well, I’m sure Santa will be happy to say a prayer for your first daddy.”
“Okay. Let’s put that in the letter too.”
* * *
Carrie stood in the kitchen, staring at all the ingredients spread across Dixie’s counter.
“All of this is going into the fruitcake?”
“Yes, it is!” Dixie said, pulling out her favorite silicone bakeware.
“Isn’t this overkill?”
“Honey, when you taste it, you’ll know it was worth all this work. Plus, we’re going to take some to the firefighters.”
“Okay, what can I do?”
“Grab that bottle of dark rum from the shelf over there.”
“I already like this better,” Carrie said, laughing.
Dixie loved to hear her laugh because it meant their relationship was getting better and better.
“How’s it going in here, ladies?” Harry asked as he walked into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee.
“We haven’t even gotten started yet,” Dixie said.
“Well, when I get back from my doctor’s appointment, I sure hope you’ll have it ready for a taste testing.”
“We’ll try, Dad,” Carrie said, rolling her eyes.
Harry quickly hurried out the door as Dixie re-focused on making the fruitcakes.
“Now, I’ve already soaked some dried fruit in the rum overnight, so let me get the dish from the refrigerator.”
“You soaked it?”
“It helps break some of the sweetness and gives it a really rich flavor.”
“Huh. Never thought of doing that.”
Dixie smiled. “Decades of cooking experience in this crazy brain of mine.”
“So we put the soaked dried fruit into the batter?”
“Right. And we’ll add some orange zest and orange juice to give it some extra flavor.”
“And these